


Requiem of the Sun Titan's Light

by machidesuyo



Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Ancient Roman Religion & Lore
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, One Shot, Random & Short, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-09-23 11:20:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20339266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/machidesuyo/pseuds/machidesuyo
Summary: Everything the light touches, Helios sees.





	1. The Opening Act

Everything the light touches, the titan of the sun sees. It’s not something he considers a blessing, but it’s not a curse either.

He sees everything, from the daily lives of mortals to the tales of the heroes and gods. Some tales have been slandered in to demonize, others elevated to praise. Nevertheless, there are only a handful of them that remain.

He remembers when a man tried to climb Olympus carrying. It looked quite pitiful, but he never took his eyes off him.

<><><> 

Hephaestus tried to control his ragged breath. He had never ran so fast before. He lifted his metal leg and plopped it on the couch, strained from the running.

The sudden brightness from the window of his forge alerted him. He was sure he hadn’t turned on the lights.

“It better not be that damn sun god,” he muttered

“Not sun god,” a looming voice corrected, “Sun titan.”

Hephaestus climbed the wall of his forge and opened the window. He wasn’t kidding when he said he was a titan. Even when he’s levitating, he was huge! He was only a tad bit shorter than the trees growing in the nearby forest. His golden hair looked like a river, and his dark skin was littered with gold markings. A halo was floating above his head, shining like the sun.

“May I come in?” He smiled. Hephaestus could only gawk at him.

“I’ll prepare some drinks and snacks,”

<><><> 

“I saw your bravado earlier,” the sun titan chuckled, biting into half a loaf of bread, “I’ve never seen the gods in such panic since the war.”

“The war?” Hephaestus sipped on his tea, “The Titanomachia?”

“It was a long time ago. I fought for my king and pointed my blade towards the gods, yet I still have a life up here, and not locked up in Tartarus,” Helios reminisced.

“Because you’re important,” Hephaestus remarked, “You are the sun titan, yes? The world cannot be without the sun.”

“Ah yes, but,” Helios nearly cracked his teacup, “That son of his is taking my domain for himself. Apollo, I recall. His sister is doing the same thing to mine. I pray Eos doesn’t meet the same fate.”

“The gods have always been cruel,” the smith huffed.

“Then why become one?” The titan asked in turn.

“Because it is my birthright!” Hephaestus slammed his hand on the table, “I have divine blood in me, yet I’m stuck here while the rest of my siblings are lounging around doing whatever!”

Helios was taken aback, “You’re a god? How did you know that?”

The smith crossed his arms, “It’s not everyday that you lose a leg and what comes out is ichor and not blood.”

Helios set his teacup down, “And what will you do after you become a god? You’ll be just like them. You’ll befriend the gods, you’ll marry one and raise one. You’d lose the value of human life and before you know it, you become the thing you hate.”

“I won’t be like them,” Hephaestus winced, “I reject my mother, therefore I reject marriage. And I sure as hell won’t raise one. All I want is to have a better life, and I want to earn as much as I can so Thetis can have a better life too!”

Helios let slow and steady breaths, “Are you sure you’re a god? Your goals are so humanly.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No,” the sun titan stirred his tea, “It’s a good thing you see. The gods think too highly of themselves.”

“Oh,”

“I believe I haven’t introduced myself,” the sun titan extended his hand, “My name is Helios.”

The smith’s hand was entirely covered by the titans, “My name is Hephaestus.”

<><><> 

He was Hera’s son! It struck Helios like an arrow! He knew he’d seen that stubbornness and vigor from somewhere before.

“He’s just like his mother,” Selene remarked, “More-so than her other children.”

Helios could only see the chaos from afar. It was quiet, it looked quiet, but Zeus’ cross expression never left him. As a welcoming gift, Hera presented him with a wife. Aphrodite, The goddess of love, had never looked so baffled.

“What a lucky man,” the youngest of the sky titans chirped, “He’s marrying Aphrodite!”

“Right you are, Eos,” Selene yawned before drifting off to slumber. Helios watched the young god intently. He pictured the god’s thoughts just from his facial expression, recalling his previous thoughts on marriage.

‘_I don’t want this! I don’t want any of this! Please, Fates! Have mercy on me!_’ his expression read, ‘_Someone, please save me!_’

The sun titan decided to himself. It was time to play the hero in this tale.

<><><> 

Hephaestus would always turn to Helios whenever he needed help adjusting to Olympus. The sun titan never felt happier before.

He’s introduced his new friend to his sisters and the rest of the Olympians, although Apollo and Artemis’ introductions were not exactly the most positive ones.

As weeks pass, the titan grew more protective and cautious towards the god, especially when it involved other gods. Zeus hasn’t been the kindest to him, and Helios worries he might do something to his new friend. He suspect that it’s the king’s fault why his new friend grows more eccentric and lonesome by the days.

<><><> 

His new forge was bigger than his previous one. Helios didn’t have to crouch to get in, excusing himself.

“Hephaestus?” He called out for his blacksmith friend. Even if his halo was lighting up the room, the darkness never left. Blueprints were sprawled all over the place, along with tools, pencils and pens.

Helios picked up quiet sobbing sounds from the corner. He walked slowly towards it and saw Hephaestus’ crouching figure.

“Hephaestus?” the titan tried to be as gentle as possible. The now-god lifted up his head, his eyes sore and wet.

“Oh, dear,” he reached out to the god, wiping his face.

“I’ll be fine,” Hephaestus sniffed, “I’m just overwhelmed, and homesick.”

Helios gulped, his chest felt heavy. He came to Hephaestus as a bearer of bad news, but it seems that he arrived at the worst possible time.

“What is it?” The smith sensed the heavy air, “Don’t tell me—“

“You see, Hephaestus,” he explained, “I can see everything that the sunlight touches. It’s not exactly a curse, but I don’t call it a blessing either. It’s not exactly something new, but your wife—“

“And Ares,” Hephaestus sighed, “I know about it. Frankly I don’t care.”

“Then why?”

“It’s the pressure from it,” the god sniffled, “Mother— Lady Hera expects me to do something about it. I can’t stop two people from falling in love, and it wasn’t my idea to get married to her when she already loves someone else.

“And while this is happening, everyone’s been telling me to fix their stuff or make something for them and they expect it to be ready by tomorrow. I’m a blacksmith, not a miracle worker!”

Hephaestus felt more tears stream down his face. Before he could wipe them himself, Helios had brushed them all away.

“No one should have to go through what you did,” The sun titan comforted, “This isn’t your fault, none of this is.”

Hephaestus closed his eyes and leaned towards Helios’ open palm, “Your hands are warm.”

“I’m the sun titan after all,” he chuckled.

“Thank you, for listening to me,” he says, quieter than a whisper.

It may be greedy of him, but Hephaestus wishes that someone could hold him like this more often, and he wouldn’t mind if it was Helios.

<><><> 

Everything the light touches, Helios sees. He loves watching Hephaestus work, whether near or from afar. He loves seeing Hephaestus when he’s concentrated, or when it lights up after a finished project.

After all the stress and pressure he’s under, he loves seeing the god doing what he loves most and what he does best. He’s seen him work for days, weeks, months. He might be close to hitting the anniversary mark.

But he could never prepare for the day he was presented with a brand new chariot. It was nighttime, so Helios couldn’t see who would come and go pay him a visit. Selene had knocked on his door with the blacksmith smiling ear to ear behind her, his present right beside him. By the fates, he’s even reigned his pegasi in so Helios didn’t have to!

“I made it for you, as a ‘thanks for being my friend’ gift,” Hephaestus laughed, trying his best to hide his eye bags and blistered hands. Helios couldn’t believe he wasn’t the only one who counted the days of their friendship, “The details were a real challenge, but it turned out satisfying.”

“Satisfying? This is amazing!” Helios beamed, “I can’t express how happy I am! Thank you so much!”

Hephaestus felt a newfound emotion surge through him. He smiled sheepishly and looked away, “Gee, it’s the first time anyone’s ever thanked me for making something.”

“What do you say we go for a joyride? Just to see how it works?” Helios jumped in and extended his hand to the smith, “You coming?”

From their time being friends, the smith god knew what he was up to. The titan’s face and tone resembled that of a fox. He was always like this when he wanted to surprise his friend, so he decided to play along. Hephaestus grabbed his hand and stepped into the chariot, standing in front of the titan. He held onto the chariot as he felt Helios’ arms circling him to take the reigns.

“Ready?” The titan said gently. The smith nodded and they took off. The experience was exhilarating and terrifying. When he was a youth, Hephaestus would always go for joyrides in the sea with the hippocampi that Thetis tamed. He loved the wind sweeping his overgrown bangs and his heartbeat’s accelerating pace, before making it back safely or diving firsthand into the ocean.

He admitted, he did miss the smell of the ocean that would accompany moments like these, but spending it with somebody made up for it. It was made better when that somebody was Helios, someone whom he cherished as his friend.

Hephaestus had never been so close to the sky before, he felt so afraid yet so amazed. He hoped that Helios was a good driver, because they were going in a direction he had never been to before.

They stopped when the wheels touched blades of grass. Helios stepped out of the chariot, carrying Hephaestus down to the ground. Hephaestus wobbled slightly at the rocky footing, before Helios caught him.

“Careful,” the titan never let go of the god, “The hills in Arcadia are quite steep.”

“Arcadia?” the god has only heard of Arcadia from stories and tales. They tell of plains that never seem to end and hills that kissed the serene blue sky gently. Helios pointed towards the horizon, at the crack between two mountains. The sun was rising like a phoenix’s rebirth, yet the stars still dance in the night sky.

“Consider it a thank-you gift for the chariot,”

“It’s beautiful,” Hephaestus sighed. Helios smiled gently at the god as he saw his face light up, and he never felt so sure of anything before.

“I know, right?”

<><><> 

The first time they spent so much time apart was the Gigantomachia. Hephaestus had to work a hundred times harder and a hundred times faster. He had little time to sleep, and littler time to eat or drink. The giants seemed so invincible, a lingering sense of hopelessness clung to the smith more and more as his new weapons failed him.

It was only a matter of time that he himself had to fight. He was no warrior, and certainly not an archer. He didn’t know what made him so excited in the first place to fight. He was now surrounded by several giants, ready to chop his head off. He closed his eyes and waited for the blow, his lips quivering and tears streaming down his face. His figure jolted when he heard a giant wailed in agony, before he was lifted up and swept away from the battlefield.

He didn’t know who rescued him, but he clung onto them like a magnet to iron. When he landed he looked up at his savior. He was astonished to see his titan friend’s usually cheerful eyes so serious before.

“What were you thinking?” his tone was sharp and cold, a sharp turn from his domain.

“Hey,” he croaked weakly.

“You know you can’t fight,” the titan hugged the god, bringing the god’s head to his chest, “Don’t throw yourself away like that.”

Hephaestus sighed, wrapping his arms around him, “Sorry.”

“You better be,” The titan heaved, “I can’t lose you.”

“Me too,” Hephaestus slurred, slowly losing consciousness, “Hey, Helios?”

“Yeah?”

“When this war is over, do you want to go the beach together?” he mumbled, “We can go sunbathe if you want, or ride the hippocampi….”

The god lost consciousness, still being held by the titan. Helios held him much closer, swearing to himself to never let the blacksmith go.

“That sounds nice,”

<><><> 

Helios opened his eyes and found himself lying down beneath a tree. The wind blew the leaves, its shadows dancing on Helios’ features.

“Sol!” He heard someone call him in an unfamiliar name, yet his body shot up by instinct. He saw a young man sun towards him.

‘Hephaestus..!’ his mind trailed. Yet the man looked different. He had neither a limp nor a scar on his face. His matted hair that was always slick with oil was now clean and brushed. And he war wearing an odd set of clothes instead of a chiton.

“What happened to you?”

“I got the new a new job at the local juice stall,” He said with a sarcastic tone. He took the his apron out of what seems to be a bag. A nameplate with the words ‘Evan Smith’ had been engraved to it, “See? It’s got my name on it.”

Helios looked at him absentmindedly, “Congratulations.”

‘Hephaestus’ chuckled in response, “Thanks, I guess. Customer service is a nightmare, so I was glad you invited me to the beach today.”

“The beach?” Helios stuttered, remembering Hephaestus’ promised to him when he rescued the god in the Gigantomachia.

“Yeah, should we head back to your apartment to pick up your stuff?” The man asked, “Your sisters will probably nag at you for forgetting your things again.”

“No,” Helios stood up. While he towered over Hephaestus as a titan, he was only several centimeters taller than him as of now, “Let’s go now.”

Hephaestus was befuddled at his friend’s behavior, but tried to hide it, “Alright, I guess.”

The both of them left the grassy area they were in, which Helios learnt it was called a ‘park’. They walked in what appeared to be a city. It’s not like Helios had never gone to any of them before, but the architecture of the infrastructure was so bizarre to him. Almost every building looked taller than the giants in the war, and none of the roads felt like they were made of soil and earth.

“I had a weird dream, just now, “ Helios suddenly blurted out.

“Oh?” This piqued his friend’s interest.

“You were there too,” the ex-titan explained, “We were different people, and everyone was different.”

“How different?”

“Very,” he sighed, “I was really tall. As tall as that thing over there.”

“You mean the lamppost?” Hephaestus laughed at his friend, “Three years in the big city and you still don’t know what a lamppost is.”

“And you were so tiny and fragile. I had to crouch just to get in your house,”

“That’s unfortunate,”

“You nearly died, and I got scared of losing you,” his breath staggered.

“Don’t worry, you big chump,” Hephaestus patted Helios’ back, “I ain’t going anywhere.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Of course. We’re best friends aren’t we?”

Best friend. That word stung him for some reason. Helios remembered why he got sucked into this mysterious world, and why they became ‘human’. He smiled, even though he couldn’t see everything the light touched anymore, as long as his light doesn’t go away and never goes out, he’d be fine. As long as his light doesn’t leave his side, it’d be more than enough.

“Of course, Evan,” The titan smiled warmly as the sun shone warmly above him.

_Anything for you, my dearest friend._


	2. The Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> not everyone forgot

Helios was sitting down on a stone chair, his hands rested atop a stone table. He was back again at the park, it seemed to bring him into a calm state. It was a break from the buildings and streets, a place that closely resembled nature in this place. He stirred a cup of fruit juice that he bought from Hephaestus’ place, using a metal straw. Such an unfamiliar place, yet he seemed so at peace.

“Hey,” he heard someone call to him with a bitter tone, “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

He knew that voice all too well, but not in a flattering light. It was _him_, the man at the root of his dear Hephaestus’ suffering, his elder brother.

“I do,” he scoffed, not bothering to turn around, “But if you’d like to share your thoughts, Ares, enlighten me.”

“Alright,” Ares clenched his fists, “You and the rest of the titans betrayed us for that maniac.”

“We did swear fealty to your father,” Helios kept stirring his cup, “He never said anything about abandoning our king.”

“Look at what he did to you! You’re stuck here in this place just like the rest of us!” He shouted angrily, “And I haven’t mentioned about how the mess you created made Tartarus rise to surface level and become a wasteland of chaos!”

“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this, you see,” Helios leered at the ex-god, “We were going throw you to Tartarus, but I suppose your sister would enjoy it there much more than here.

“But I guess if you take one piece, you have to take the whole set,”

Ares felt his blood boil at the last part, watching the titan slowly turn to meet his gaze.

“For some reason, you all were pulled in with him, and now you can’t go back to where you came from either,”

“Do you realize what you’ve done?” Ares barked, “What you’ve done to Hephaestus and the rest of my family?”

“I’ve done nothing to harm him, dear,”

“You wiped his memories clean to the brim! He doesn’t know who he is or who he used to be!” He bellowed, “You had no right to screw him up like that!”

“You should’ve taken a good look at him when he was a god, Ares,” Helios jeered, “You and your petty Olympians worked him to death, yet still have the guts to talk about him behind his back. He had no one to go to for help except for me. Now that he’s forgotten all about you, he’s much happier.”

“What are you going to do next? Lie to him?” he scoffed, “He will never trust you again once he knows everything.”

“He will never know,” Helios walked towards Ares, “Not that anyone would bother to tell him the truth, or if there are still gods left to remember who they were.”

“Oh, yeah?” Ares lifted his chin up, looking down on the titan, “Not everyone forgot.”

“And who’s he to believe you?” Helios chuckled, “He confides and trust in me, while he doesn’t think of you as a brother even.”

The titan pats Ares’ shoulder, “We should pretend to be on good terms. If you’re always attacking me—”

Helios grips the cloth tightly.

“—Hephaestus might end up hating you again.”

<><><> 

The next day was everyday as expected for everyone, except for Ares. His morning routine was like any normal high-schooler. He’d wake up, brush his teeth and face, then change into his school uniform. When he arrived at the dinner table, Hephaestus would be making breakfast in the kitchen. Hebe would be sitting in her baby chair while Eileithyia fed her. Enyo, Ares and Polemus would be eating their breakfast, while Hera would be reading the daily newspaper.

Strangely enough, none of his siblings were present, with the exception of Hephaestus. He sat down, a plate of omelette and sausages placed in front of him.

“Where’s everyone else?” He asked Hephaestus.

“They left already without you,” Ares sighed at the reply. Ever since he bought a new motorcycle with his savings, they’d always leave to school without him because they think he can catch up to school with his bought vehicle. The ex-god grumbled as he ate his breakfast. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Hephaestus pouring boiled water into an instant noodle cup.

“Why are you eating that junk?”

“There won’t be any groceries left for dinner,”

“Then we can share,” Ares cut off half of his omelette, “Get another plate.”

A wave of fluster and panic surged over his brother, “Is that really okay? What if you get hungry during class?”

“Then I’ll steal some food from the canteen,” Although he was joking, there was a gut feeling that Hephaestus had that told him he was really going to rob the canteen. He’s done it several times, and has gotten into trouble for it. It was just a gut feeling, but Hephaestus felt flattered that his brother might risk himself just so he had a proper meal before school.

It was barely audible, but Hephaestus muttered a simple ‘thank you’. As they ate quietly, Ares knew being close to his brother was near impossible, especially after what he did to him. But one thing he knew is that he would never let _that_ happen to him.

He swore to himself, even if they couldn’t be brothers, until they become gods again, he’d never let him fall into Helios’ clutches.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahahahhahaha. im never gonna not add ares/heph in anything

**Author's Note:**

> ahahhahahaha i wrote this cus i was bored in class. might write an epilogue with ares in it bcs hes my fav behind heph.


End file.
